No Unemployment Payments When Wages Earned As Independent Contractor.

Plaintiff is an attorney who left private practice in 2007 to work as a law clerk at the superior court. He lost his job at the superior court due to the economic recession and was unable to find employment either in the public or private sector. He filed a claim for unemployment benefits. His benefits commenced on April 4, 2010, with a weekly benefit amount of $450. He disclosed to EDD [Employment Development Department] that he intended to seek work as an independent contractor while receiving benefits. He expended $10,925.23 in setting up a business in his home, and earned $2,750 for the week ending May 8, 2010. However, he did not report any wages earned that week, taking the position his business expenses had exceeded his earnings. EDD denied him benefits for that week. The superior court denied his petition for administrative mandate. The Court of Appeal considered Unemployment Insurance Code sections 1252 and 1279, and stated the issue before it as: “The dispute in this case involves the meaning of the term ‘wages’ in the relevant statutes as that term is applied to those self-employed or independent contractors.” The appellate court concluded: “[T]he wages of a self-employed person or independent contractor include ‘any and all compensation’ that the individual receives in a given week.” The court also found “even if certain of the expenses were deductible for the purpose of determining [his] income, [he] failed to present evidence that those expenses were incurred during the accounting period in question: specifically, the week ending May 8, 2010.” (Natkin v. California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (Cal. App. Second Dist., Div. 2; September 18, 2013.) 219 Cal.App.4th 997.)